For Barcelona, the team has shown signs of starting strong but fading in the current season. Over the past period, Flick's team has consistently failed to deliver performances that meet expectations, causing them to lose their advantage on the league standings and hand over the initiative to their competitors. At present, after resolving issues with player registration, Laporta is working hard on several key transfers in an attempt to build a more competitive team for Flick.
Overall, the main reason why Barcelona is still hovering at the edge of financial balance is due to high salary expenditures. In the first team, there are high-paid players such as Lewandowski, Frankie de Jong, and Ansu Fati. Among these players, Lewandowski's performance this season has been quite good, with already 25 goals scored. However, in the recent period, Lewandowski's form has significantly declined, failing to score in 4 out of 5 consecutive games. Considering Lewandowski's age of 36, this decline is likely irreversible. Therefore, with his contract still having one and a half years left before expiration, Barcelona has actually started preparing for Lewandowski's transfer. If they can find him a new club, the team can save 33.33 million euros in salary expenses each season.
Compared to Lewandowski, who has at least made a good contribution to the team this season, Ansu Fati has become a "marginal player" in terms of competition. On the forward line, Ansu Fati is Flick's last choice, having only played 4 times in the league this season, with only 1 start and a total playing time of only 125 minutes. Recently, Barcelona has been persuading Ansu Fati to leave the team, and if a permanent transfer cannot be achieved, the team is willing to accept a loan arrangement. If Fati leaves on loan, Barcelona can at least avoid paying his full annual salary of 13.95 million euros.
Frankie de Jong has also become a "nail" for Barcelona. After recovering from injury, Frankie de Jong did not quickly return to the starting position as expected by the outside world. The reasons for this are twofold: firstly, because players like Casado have emerged unexpectedly, making Frankie de Jong no longer indispensable; secondly, because his annual salary reaches 36 million euros, but he disagrees with a pay cut for renewal. Laporta instructed Flick to reduce Frankie de Jong's playing time in order to facilitate his agreement to transfer. For Laporta, if the above three "burdens" can be successfully cleared, the team's financial difficulties will cease to exist.
In addition, some main and even core-level players are only one step away from leaving the team. In the multiple seasons before this one, Araujo has always been the backbone of the team's defense, recognized as a top central defender in European football. However, Araujo has never shown enough sense of belonging to Barcelona, remaining noncommittal about the team's previous contract extension offer. According to Spanish media outlet "The Athletic," Araujo has explicitly informed Laporta that he wishes to leave the team during this transfer period. After this 70 million euro core player officially announced his departure, Barcelona has also begun discussions with several teams, including Juventus, regarding Araujo's transfer. With all parties interested in facilitating the transfer, it is highly likely that Araujo will say goodbye to Barcelona during this transfer period.
In terms of recruitment, Barcelona is expected to sign a highly-priced attacker. According to "Mundo Deportivo," Rashford is increasingly close to wearing Barcelona's red and blue jersey in the second half of the season. This English international has completely broken with Manchester United, and his departure in the winter window is a foregone conclusion. Although many teams are interested in signing Rashford, he has a preference for Barcelona. This top-salary striker is willing to actively join forces with Coach Flick. Given Barcelona's current situation, a loan deal is the most feasible transfer arrangement. Rashford's remaining half-year salary is 5 million euros, and he is willing to give up 2 million euros, with Barcelona only needing to bear 3 million euros. This clears the biggest obstacle for the transfer. (Images sourced from the internet; if there is any infringement, please contact us to remove them.)